I just finished sending in my portfolio and brief bio to a new education magazine that will be introduced in about one more week! I was asked if I would allow them to feature my store and include a bio...AND...OF COURSE, I said, YES!! Well, I am not so sure that it is all that big of a deal; however, I CAN pretend..hahaha

I can't release the name yet, but the magazine will be available on iTunes and I think they mentioned it will be available in print, but I can't be certain about that part....oopsy. This is turning out to be THE BEST WEEK EVER!! hahaha...just kidding...

Actually, I am dealing with the act of forgiveness. What does true forgiveness really look and feel like and how can we forgive someone even if they continue to cause heartache and pain?? I mean, sometimes I feel like some people REALLY need to "wonder the desert" for 40 years or so before they say sorry for the millionth time. Some people need to be forced to think about what an apology truly is...

Forgiveness is a choice, just like any other choices we have. Why is it so difficult to truly forgive someone who is just plain mean?? Not that I am trying to determine whether or not they deserve forgiveness, but rather that forgiveness takes time and if a person I am trying to forgive keeps doing the same thing before I even get a chance to process the previous apology, then how can I truly forgive? There is so much built up that I don't even know where to begin the process of forgiveness anymore. I wish the act of forgiveness was as easy and smooth as the sound of the word when it is said out loud. The word itself seems to have a peace about it. Maybe it is the phonetic sound of "f" and "ess" that soothes the soul....the only problem is that I have to look at the person I am trying to forgive and all I can think about is 40 years in a desert and food falling from the sky; hopefully, knocking some sense into this person...sadly, that thought seems to bring a smile on my face. I just can't possibly have that image bubble floating over my head while I try to forgive someone...It's a juxtaposition and the spiteful image bubble prevents the the following through of this forgiveness that I am trying to encompass...

I have just begun to ask God to pray for me...I mean, I need a powerful intervention of enlightened forgiveness to take place...and right now....that is just not going to happen....Do I just change my thought process, and instead of forgiving for what this person has done, should I start forgiving this person for the storm they will create in the future...or the next minute??

Well, not to spread my bitter chill in any way...here is a chilly freebie for all of you!! Actually, I have two chilly freebies!! To download the zipped files, just click on the download button underneath each preview image.

Enjoy the happier chill in my life and I hope these inspire you to be creative this week!! I also created the border lines above while I was working on the digital paper patterns. You are free to use the border line for personal and/or commercial use as long as you link back to my blog or TPT store with a credit in your file. Click on the Terms of Use link in the right sidebar of the blog page to read more about my TOU.

Enjoy & I hope these put a smile on your face...and forgiveness in your hearts...tehehehe!!

Thank you for visiting my blog, for pinning me pretty, and for all of your support! I am hoping to find some wisdom in your stories about forgiveness, so start digging out your Higher Order Thinking skills...bwahahaha!!

Click the image to check out my newest graphics on TPT

If you enjoy my art, I would love for you to share the link with others by pinning. Thank you!

13 comments:

Hi my friend! Long time no chat:( I'm sorry you're going through such a tough time. Forgiveness is a tough one and yet, it's what God calls us to do. I had something pretty horrific happen to my husband and I about 23 years ago....I carried around sadness and hate for quite a while but realized it was only hurting me......after many years, I did forgive and release those feelings....does it mean that what this person did wasn't wrong? No but it was making me bitter. This person will have to answer to God for what they did to me. That's enough. I'll keep ya in my prayers. Hugs and your snowflake art is adorbs!!!

Thank you Tara & it has been a while since we chatted! I completely understand what you mean. I believe the persistence of the situation has not caused me to be so much bitter as it has blocked my heart from love and joy. I am really struggling with it. I think the past two years I had a lot of pain from many people I trusted all at once and I have built walls of steal. I am having a hard time finding my way back. I know what I need to do, but my fear of hurt is debilitating.I never really understood how fear can have such a stronghold on ones life.

Thank you for sharing and praying - it is comforting to know that restoration of the mind, body and soul are possible.

Forgiveness is a very difficult task when you suffer the consequences of the thoughtless, cruel, or disrespectful behavior of another person (especially if it was someone you love). I was knocked on my fanny about a year and half ago. The behavior came from a person I completely trusted and relied on "to have my back" in life. I never expected this person to be the one who stabbed me in the back! It came out of the blue and leveled me. I was shocked, and I had no idea how to handle it.

Once I got over the shock, I realized that I needed to take care of myself, set new limits, and ultimately forgave. After months of hurt and anger I realized that I was hurting myself by holding on to what happened.

I made a choice to forgive, let go of the past, and to concentrate on today... BUT I also set a limit for the offender. I made it very clear that the behavior would NEVER be tolerated again. This allowed me to forgive the yesterday occurrence while crafting a tomorrow that was healthier for me. I don't think God expects us to endure limitless amounts of abuse be it emotional, psychological, or physical.

The limits I set were with an adult (don't know how I would handle a situation if it were a child of mine). I now know I can shut a door if the person standing behind it is truly unhealthy for me, unsafe to me, or dangerous to my body, heart, or soul.

I am not sure if my story helps at all. I can tell you I came out of the situation stronger, smarted, and more forgiving.

If you ever want to just talk- feel free to call me. (You can send me your number through the email me link on my blog). I am also an Arizona gal- so we are on the same time zone). I'm a good listener and I suspect I know first hand the struggles you are having with forgiveness.

I know that forgiveness is a choice and I never had a hard time forgiving in the past. I know that my fear of being hurt more is the driving force of what is keeping me from being able to forgive. I guess the problem really is not about forgiving, but about trusting. I went endured a traumatic series of events over the last two years and things from my childhood, things that I "thought" I had been healed from, surfaced back to the top. I completely fell apart, but at the same time, I stood up for myself. By doing so, I felt empowered, but I also felt alone. I had too much to face at one time and I will admit that I am afraid of being hurt again. I know I can't truly forgive until I let go of that fear and mistrust.

Pain and hurt has manifested into fear and anger. I know that I must deal with the pain and hurt in order to strip away the fear and anger, but I never expected that fear could be such a powerful stronghold. I am afraid to deal with the pain because there is a lot of it. I know that God continues to wait because the responses from you and others is honest, yet loving. I could have easily received a ton of responses from people who encouraged me to just move on and forget about forgiving; however, I got exactly the messages my heart needed to hear.

Thank you for the encouragement and understanding. It is definitely hard to admit that I am struggling with forgiveness.

I didn't know you are in Arizona by the way! I would love to chat sometime.

Forgiveness is hard but as Cindy commented, it is what we must do as Christians. If we don't forgive then we won't be forgiven. Jesus forgave us, so we must forgive others. It is the story of the master who forgave his servant. The servant should then have forgiven those who were indebted to him. My pastor reminds me of this lesson often as I struggle with this idea from time to time. She also reminds me of the power of prayer. Try praying for the person you want to forgive. Though it may be hard to say the words, ask God to give you a creative way to deal with the person or better yet, ask God to give you His love for the person. Ultimately, you want to be able to live a life that leaves the door open for you to share the gospel with this person. Unforgiveness will close the door on any future opportunities to testify God's love. Hope this provides some insight. God is good. He loves you and wants your life to be happy and prosperous.

It is definitely easier said than done. I never thought this would be an area where I would struggle - I have always been very forgiving.....yet, I guess there is always a time to grow and learn.

Thank you for taking the time to be encouraging. I see where your heart is and I am thankful that I have such a great family of bloggers! It doesn't matter how I feel or whether or not the person(s) in my life are genuinely sorry - what matters is that I make the choice to give God the reigns and forgive so that I don't allow this hurt to control one more day of my life. I know this is not exactly what you said..hahaha...but I heard what I needed to hear.

Second, from personal experience, I know that forgiveness comes from a heart issue. When my heart is full of sin, I cannot truly forgive another person. But when I have things right with the Lord, HE helps me see my need for true forgiveness. I have been dealing lately with realizing that I need to forgive the way the Lord forgave me. If He was willing to send His Son for me, why do I hold onto someone else's "junk" and not forgive them? He loves me unconditionally, but He also is in love with me and desires our relationship to be pure.

I've been reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. It has been radical in my life!

Michelle, I have had issues with my brother for years. . . YEARS! and many times I have tried to actually and truthfully forgive. . . It was so hard to do. I knew in my head that I should, but in my heart, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I kept remembering the pain he inflicted on my mom and dad and the rest of my family. One Sunday in church the minister spoke of the hard task of forgiveness. He invited all of us to write on a piece of paper who we were wanting to forgive and if we wanted to add a little of the details. He wanted us to physically give the problem to God. Let God deal with it. Don't harbor those feelings any more. So. . . I did. . . I wrote it down, put it in a little basket that was on the alter. . . . and I gave it to God. I do believe that I am not feeling the hard feelings that I used to. I will never forget, but I do believe that I have forgiven my brother. We see each other more often, and we can talk and share stories, but we never speak of the past. Maybe this is just our way of dealing with it. If you can turn to God, let him have your worries. Let him take care of your pain. Trust. Him. With. Love.Patty

It's so timely that you posted this, as I just came home from an interaction with a family member with whom I have a similar issue. I don't know what the answer is. I think that I'm learning that you can forgive and also let go of a relationship. I always thought that it that to forgive meant that I couldn't walk away, but I'm coming to realize that forgiveness is about what I feel about a person in my heart, not about whether we continue in our relationship. I hope that you find some peace in your situation. Forgiving others is not always easy, even when it's one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves.

Hi Michelle - I feel your pain on that one. I had an administrator that continually abused ---- oh I mean HURT me...crazy! Forgiveness is hard to give but God brings so much peace and grace when we do. Also I found that allowing that person to get under my skin was allowing them to WIN in a way. Why should I waste on more minute on them? It took a LONG time and I mean a LONG time for me to release it to God but once I did...I stopped caring about it and she was onto bullying someone else...go figure. I realize that's not the answer because these people should be stopped but I can't control their actions.I hope I'm not rambling...LOL You are such a sweet, wonderful, giving person that I hate to see you sad or losing sleep at 3 AM over this person. :o)Hope your weekend is fantastic...it's almost FRIDAY!!Vicky Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After

Seveny times seven...yuck! Forgiveness is so very hard but a very wise friend always tells me that "no one is worth going to hell over." I choose to forgive and continue praying for the person... it is very difficult to stay angry for someone you are praying for!

Hi Michelle, I´m not sure how I stumbled across this post, I know it is months old - maybe it´s a God thing:) You asked how do you forgive someone that needs forgiving everyday? God knows the situation and HE wants to heal you, allow him to remove the bandages, cleanse the wounds, and bring healing -pour your heart before him HE LOVES YOU! I believe true healing has to happen before we can truely forgive & love. Yes we are commanded to forgive as we have been forgiven - forget it even? Our enemies need help, but it´s not for us to do - that´s God´s job. HE is near to the broken hearted and HE binds up their wounds! Anger is normal when someone hurts us and it is ok to tell them. Our job is to let go of the anger and not allow the person to hurt us any longer. We are valuable and we should not let others harm us. (((Lots of hugs)))) to you today, I pray that you would have complete healing in your life!Love,Dinah